EU contributes EUR2 mln to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus

The European Union has contributed another EUR2 mln to the Committee on Missing Persons Project on the Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons in Cyprus. The contribution follows the specific request of the European Parliament. The agreement was concluded on 4th August between the European Commission and the United Nations Development Program.
This is the second contribution the European Union grants to support the CMP mandate. The European Union had already contributed EUR1.5 mln to the Committee on Missing Persons in 2007.
With these two contributions the European Union is, so far, the largest single donor in support of the Committee on Missing Persons mandated activities which have been proven to be one of the most successful confidence building and reconciliation measures.
The Committee on Missing Persons project aims at closing a painful chapter in the history of the island and at contributing to the process of reconciliation between both communities. The participation of bi-communal teams of scientific, anthropologists and archaeologists at all stages of the process as well as the bi-communal composition of the Committee fosters the spirit of reconciliation of the CMP mandate.
Through this support to the CMP mandate, the remains of at least 500 missing persons are expected to be exhumed, analyzed and identified and finally returned to theirs relatives.